6/7/21

Tom Brennan - A QUICK PEEK AT THE ST LUCIE METS, AND A YANKS' VS. METS' MINORS OVERVIEW


"May I Take a Little Peek"?

The St Lucie Mets now reside in what is called Low A Southeast.

That league has some mighty interesting stats - all are through Saturday, FYI.

The St Lucie Mets in 29 games have walked 183 times.   You do the math - that's a lot.

But they've also fanned 322 times.  That's a lot per game too.

But they are only the 4th worst team in that category.

The best is the Jupiter Hammerheads with 295 in 29 games.  That's a lot per game too.

Maybe it's the lights.

One guy - Lakeland's Jose de la Cruz - has fanned 52 times in 93 at bats, with just 10 hits and 7 walks.   The King of the Ks.

The Mets have also been hit by pitch 38 times.  That's a lot, too.  Where's the aspirin?

So in 29 games, for the Lucie, there have been K's, BB's, and HBP's totaling 543.  An aggregate average of 18.7 of those 3 per 9 IP.  That a lot of Ks, walks and HBPs.  I wonder how long the games take?

Bradenton pitchers lead with 350 Ks in 29 games.  That's a lot.  St Lucie?  288 in 29 games.  Relatively speaking, that's not a lot.  10.34 per 9.

Matt O'Neill started out 0-17 with 12 Ks.  Ouch.  Not good.

But then the sun broke through.  The catcher went 3 for 3 with 3 walks and no Ks in his last two games, and he suddenly has a .433 OBP and a career .418 OBP.  

Seems he deserves to play a lot more, especially since he is good at throwing runners out.  23 of 52 in his career.  That sort of success rating is hard to do down there in a league with young legs.   After all, 4 of the teams down there have stolen a total of 193 bases in their 4 stints of 29 games, and been caught just 26 times.

3 guys other than Francisco Alvarez with a "C" after their names (O'Neill, Colina, and Dyer) have 50 Ks in 109 ABs - that's a lot - but also have a "that's a lot" 28 walks.  Frankie while with the Lucites had 15 walks and 7 Ks before his promo, and he and the injured Crow had a combined .565 St Lucie OBP, which is Bonds-ian.  Guys like that need an "off-base %".

Gaddis in uniform

One last guy with a "C" is
Nic Gaddis, who is 3 for 10 with an amazing 9 walks and a .600 OBP, and that's a lot.  And no, he did not strike out the other 7 times, just twice.  Except he has played much more in infield spots than catcher in his young career, so I'm puzzled at the "C", and don't know if he is looking to transition to a catcher's role.  He has caught so little, in fact, that he has caught 0 of 0 attempted baserunners in his career.

The Yankees' Tampa team is hitting a league-best .272/.394/.483.  

The Mets are hitting .222/.368/.314.  

All of that has resulted in 94 more Tampa runs in 29 games.  That's a lot per game, too.  

To their credit, the St Lucie Mets team has scored 161 runs in 29 games, and yes, that's a lot, too.  In fact it is 48 more than the Jupiter team has scored.  I won't say it, but it rhymes with "That's A Pot."

I remain puzzled how the Yankees much more often than not have significantly better hitting minors teams than the Mets.  You too?  Thoughts? Hold that thought for a bit...

Despite the above reference to runs, team ERAs in St Lucie's league are not that bad because an extraordinary amount of unearned runs have scored.  The Mets team has allowed "just" a league-best 20 unearned runs to go with a decent 4.24 team ERA.  One team has allowed 41 unearned runs in 29 games.  I guess there is a lot of learning on the job.  When they took the job, someone should have told them there was a catch.

I'd give you my take on St Lucie pitchers individually, but the MILB stat page for them is not working, so maybe another time.

The Lucies are 16-13 overall.  Which is good.  Seaver's rookie record. (And now 17-13 after a 2-0 shortened win in which they fanned 12 more times in 6 innings).

But the Yanks' same-league squad is an even better 21-8.  Hmmm...

The Mets' Syracuse, Binghamton and Brooklyn squads are a combined  28-55.  Which is not good.  At all.   

The AA Rumble Ponies, while 8-20, are 6-4 in their last 10 - which is good.  Relatively.

The Yankees' AA farm team?  Flip the numbers.  20-8.  Hmmm...

AAA Syracuse is 11-18, while the Yanks' AAA team is 18-9.  Hmmm...

A ball Brooklyn is 9-17, while the Yanks' A team is 15-12.  Hmmm...

An overall 44-68 farm system is a good indicator why the Mets' farm system is ranked so low.

Yanks overall are 74-37.  Hmmm...thoughts?

Until the next time, folks.  Good?  Thanks a lot for any comments.

Of course, meanwhile, the big team from Queens continues to roll on.  Let's Go, BIG Mets.


9 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

I will add this, though - Yanks big team in de Bronx is floundering, while the Mets' beleaguered team is soaring. It feels...GREAT.

Raw said...

I liked your article and I to noticed this. What are the Mets doing to improve their minor league system. Most of the Mets pitching prospects in the minors have problems. What happened to these so called prospects? Names like Suarez, Acosta, Santos, Corneilly, Butto, etc. What is the new management doing to improve our minor league pipeline. I only see prospects leaving the system. The new management did a lot to improve to the Mets but I guess we are at win at all costs right now. Which means the minor league system will continue to flounder. What prospects are ready to take over for Pederson iff he continues to flounder? We do not seem to have AAA pitchers ready to take that next step. I look ahead to the draft and from what I am hearing the Mets might take a position player. I feel they need pitching. All of their teams in the minors are losing because of bad pitching either starters or relievers.

Tom Brennan said...

Raw, I am as concerned as you are. Besides very think ranks of quality starters and relievers, there are few quality hitters. Thankfully, Alvarez, Baty, Mauricio and (hopefully) Crow are all bona fide MLB future hitters, and that ain't bad, but other than the recently acquired and not ready for prime time Khalil Lee, everyone else seems iffy or worse. Of course, a dark horse like McNeil can pop up anywhere and any time.

Raw said...

Thanks for your response. A lot of the other teams do a good job of drafting in the international market the Mets under wilson were abysmal. I hope this new regime under Anderson and Scott do a lot better. What happened to Desomond Lindsay and Adrienne Hernandez, Consuegro, etc. A lot of these players were payed big bonuses to sign and did not pan out. Let hope that Alexander Ramirez is an exception.

Tom Brennan said...

Raw, also in my opinion, if Peterson faltered today, not good. A month from now, I might be a lot more comfortable promoting Megill and/or Szapucki. Both IMO need more innings.

Tom Brennan said...

Raw, only about 20 ABs for Alex Ramirez, but they have been a rough 20 ABs. He likely needed rookie ball Brooklyn or Kingsport, both of which no longer exist. Alvarez, Mauricio are the only two internationals right now I am excited about. We'll see if that changes later this season.

TexasGusCC said...

You mean the St. Lucieeeeeee Mets?

bill metsiac said...

The 17 players simultaneously on the ML IL have resulted in a lot of talent at all MnL levels being prematurely promoted.

Three of our top prospects at low levels (Ginn, Allan and Crow-Armstrong) have all had major surgeries causing long absences.

And there at least a few who are playing that you haven't mentioned. Megill, Szapucki and Lee could all be very good MLers soon.

All is not lost.

Tom Brennan said...

Bill, good points, although few hitters have been imported - Lee, Mazeika, (I hate to add Peraza to that, but yes, he wasn't on the OD roster), Drury...but most of i don't think is injury related - just talent is sparse. Lots of would-be prospects and plenty of guys outside the top 30 just aren't hitting. And are fanning like the dickens.